One of the most common questions among athletes is how many hours they have to train to make the most out of it.

Work and family take often most of our time. Nevertheless, being physically active may help on those areas too. It will help us feel stronger, be more positive, release stress, and sleep better, among many other benefits. In summary, it is definitely a worthy effort.

Where Do I Begin?
It is important to set a training schedule we can truly commit to. If we set to train five days a week but, in the end, we are only able to train three days, we are going to feel we are not on the right track. It is better to simply commit to train three days a week, and take it from there.

Look for what works for you. Training three days a week is an excellent starting point. Incorporate your training schedule into your other schedules, follow it, and see yourself progress, slowly but surely. Your hard work will pay off.

Head vs Heart
As weeks go by, you might want to commit to an extra day a week. At that point, it will be important to decide if it is even necessary, if it is necessary only certain weeks, and what the best way to incorporate it is. Your weekly training plan will adapt to your new availability, and your results may improve but you always want to ask yourself at the expense of what. You certainly do not want to add stress to your work and family life, and there is no need to.

More Hours Doesn’t Mean Better Results
We tend often to add more and more miles to our training. Nevertheless, we need to know when that is the right thing to do, and, in the case of triathlon and duathlon, what discipline to focus on depending on where we are at in our training.

Furthermore, we need to take into account our previous experience. It is not the same someone getting ready for her first marathon as an expert runner. The latter may easily run 80 miles a week without hassle while the former may increase injury risk if she does the same.

Summary
In summary, we need to carefully evaluate when increasing our training (i.e., time and distance) will translate into better results, and when it will simply turn into an obstacle.

Participation in all types of physical activity is highly recommended, and so is to challenge yourself to sign up for a race. Do not miss out on the chance to follow your dreams and cross the finish line. All it will take is effort, and a little bit of time management.

Choose wisely what you want to train for, and ask yourself if it makes sense given your previous experience and availability. Once you have done that, it is time to start training! You may be able to reach heights you cannot yet imagine.